Delicate Little Bird
by MissWaffles101
Summary: I can barely bring an arrow back without coughing, shaking or sweating. My whole body felt sore and sick, hot and sticky. I knew I was sick in some way, just not sure of what. Katniss Everdeen is sick with the flu, and here's the story of how her and Peeta get through it. Lots of fluff so please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Troubled

**Hey guys, so Life with Josh didn't turn out to well. I finished it, but sadly I didn't know you couldn't have real people on here, so pm me if you want to read it. So now it's time for a new story, Delicate Bird. I got inspired by this from reading a couple other stories, literally, there were only like two stories. I really enjoyed them, so it's my turn to write one how I want to. This takes place before she had kids, but after the rebellion, so about five years. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 1: Trouble

This has been one of the most frustrating days. I can barely lift my bow up and bring the string back without coughing or sniffling up snot. I felt chilled no matter how warm it was, and my skin was paper white. I knew I was sick, just not sure of what. Peeta hasn't seemed to notice, thank goodness, I wouldn't see the sun for a while.

No one was going to see the sun anyways, because the sky was completely gray, about to drop snow any minute now. The air was cold, bring the chills throughout my body soar through me. I pick up my bow for another time, quivered an arrow, and slowly brought the string back. My whole body was shaking from the cold, so I wasn't very steady. My hands were drenched with sweat, already drenching the arrow and bow too. I let go as the arrow went only a few feet from where I'm standing, and into the ground. I drop the bow and collapse onto the ground, my back landing painfully on the bow.

_I can't even shoot a simple arrow, _I think to myself. Everything seemed impossible, and shooting arrows into trees was what I wanted to do right here and right now.

My arms slowly move around me, as if making an invisible snow angel, feeling the soft bed of grass beneath me, a few leaves tangling up in my hair. I can almost feel the ground moving beneath me, the world spinning. The few dark grey clouds seem to be circling right above me.

Some shreds of grass come out of the ground as I slightly pull them, then shake them from my hands.

I try to sit up, but I end up falling back down on my bow. I bring one of my hands up to my forhead, and it's almost burning hot. What am I going to do? There is nothing to do. I'll just have to let Peeta baby me for a while, and heal the best I can.

Nobody is going to find me here, so I do my best to sit up, but exhaustion overwhelms me while the clouds in the sky go deep into my head. The sky turns empty and the ground starts to move. The whole world starts spinning faster and I black out.

"_Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire!" Claudius Templesmith's voice booms out throughout the arena. Why would he ever announce this? The arena starts to turn darker quickly as I open my eyes and find the surroundings of me are already burning. I quickly untie the rope with my nimble fingers and jump out of the high tree, but a flame has already engulfed me. I run quickly out of it, almost burned to death, but there are more obstacles to come. _

_I try to run around the flames but the fire is everywhere, burning everything to ashes. My eyes start watering as ash starts to land on my whole body. I keep looking ahead, as something starts to come out of the flames, apparently fire resistant, because it wasn't burning. A muttation! _

_It doesn't do anything at first, just standing there snarling at me. I notice it's features, messy and soft blonde fur, blue eyes, a ribbon black collor with a gray 12 on it. Peeta. _

_More dogs start to file out from behind him. I look at each of them, studying their features too, a small one with a blue collar with a 12 reflecting-Prim. A medium sized one with golden hair and a 4, Finnick, a small gray one with a 4, a blackish brown one with gold teeth, the list keeps growing from victors to my family. _

_I come out of study and start running as they all growl at me and chase me close behind. The flames engulf me as I start screaming when the mutated Prim gets hold of me and drags me back. I look back at her but quickly look back ahead as I see the careers from my first games, smiling mischievously at me, then slowly turn into the mutts that chased Peeta and I. They charge forward at me and start clawing at every inch of my body. _

_I turn around to find Prim just standing there, her normal self, not a muttion. She's wearing her first reaping outfit and frowning, then rage filling up in her whole body. _

"_Why didn't you save me Katniss! Why didn't you save all those innocent people!" she screams as the mutts keep clawing at me. I dig my finger nails into the ground as shocks of pain soar through me, as a pod of tracker jackers start stinging me. _

"_Prim! I couldn't do anything! I would've! I could've!" I scream back. _

"_Then why didn't you!" she yells. Her body turns back into a mutt as she runs toward me, clawing up my face. _

"_Why didn't you!" she keeps repeating. "Why didn't you!" _

"_Katniss!" the voice echoes softly throughout the arena. I try to look up but the mutts are restricting me. I move my head slowly up and see Peeta's face. _

"_Peet-" I'm cut off as dirt and venom fill up in my mouth. _

"_Katniss!" the voice yells again. My whole body has gone numb as the darkness of the arena starts to get lighter, and lighter, and lighter, _

"Katniss, can you hear me?" I hear a soft voice. My eyes flutter open to Peeta with a worried look on his face. I'm not in the arena. There are no mutts. There are no flames. It's just me in the outside woods of District 12, laid back on my crunched bow.

I try to say something but all that comes out is a choke. My throat feels dry and empty, with no sounds or voice. Peeta squints his eyes as he studies me, then touches my forehead with his cold and icy hand. Even in his warm coat, I can tell he's freezing.

"I need to get you home," he mumbles to himself looking up at the sky. I look around to notice that the snow has already dropped down, covering me in a small layer of the soft white ice. My body starts shaking again as Peeta slowly guides me to sit up. He grips my hand hard when I try to stand, and catches me when I start to fall over. Still holding on, he grabs my bow and the arrow out of the ground.

"Let me lead you," he whispers. I stay frozen in my spot and try to move my feet from the ground slowly as he guides me. I can only go so far as my vision blurs and turns into darkness as I fall asleep.

_Peeta's P.O.V._

Katniss starts to fall over again but I keep my grip harder on her. I look at her face to realize she's fallen asleep again. Her skin is paper white and I can feel her shaking even when she's sleeping. I pick her up and start walking a bit quicker out of the entrance of the woods. My feet start to move faster as more snow starts to drop down on us.

The victor's village comes into view so I start running even faster to get her into the warm house. When I reach the house, my hands fumble around to get the key. I twist the lock and open the door while a breeze of snow blows in. I close the door behind us and run up the stairs without taking my shoes off. I go into our room and lay Katniss down on the bed, covering her in our thick blankets, then kiss her on top of her head. _Just let her rest, she needs it. _

She really didn't look like herself, pale and all. Her forehead was burning when I touched it, she must be sick in some way. I'm not sure which, but I'm going to take care of her no matter what.

**Hoped you guys liked it, because this took me a while! Please review if you want me to fix anything, and keep reading! -MissWaffles101**


	2. Chapter 2: Rest

Chapter 2: Definite

_Katniss' P.O.V._

I awake under thousands of covers on our bed, still chilled to the bone. I must've fallen asleep again, because I don't remember walking home. My whole head is full of clouds right now, so remembering yesterday is not my top priority.

I slowly move the covers off of me as I sit up, looking out our window. The light shines through the window, so I slept through the night without a single nightmare or dream. The one I had earlier though, that got me thinking.

No, no, it was not my fault that Prim died. Those bombs killed her. I can't even bare to think about this right now, so I push those thoughts out of my head.

When I try to stand up, Peeta walks into the room with a mug and makes me sit down again.

"You, aren't going anywhere," he says sternly but jokingly. He hands me a mug of hot tea and orders me to drink it. I sip the hot tea, as it rushes down my throat making it at least damp. Peeta sits down next to me on the bed.

"Peeta, I am just not feeling myself, that doesn't mean I can't easily stand up," I try confronting him, but he just shakes his head.

"You shouldn't have been out in the woods yesterday, you should've just told me," he says. I nod quickly.

"I know, you're right, I'm sorry," I apologize, then end up leaning my head on his shoulder, but he brings me closer to him, feeling the warmth of his chest, the beat of his heart. Tears start dripping down my cheeks and onto my boots. I never even changed, I just slept in exactly what I wore into the woods.

"Shhh, it's okay Katniss, you're going to get through this, we are," he croons, I nod again with more tears spilling down my cheeks.

"What do you think it is?" I choke out.

"I'm not definite, but it's probably the flu," he suggests.

Well, the symptoms of it seem to be true. Chills, my sore throat, congested nose, my tiredness, all part of the flu. But how could I possibly catch it? That's the question, but the other question is how I'm going to get through it.

I sip more of the scorching hot tea while Peeta rubs my back in circles.

"All I want you to do is rest, because that's all you can do right now," he whispers. I would protest, saying I could just walk around the house if I wanted to, since that's the only place I'll be going.

A blizzard wind corrupts our conversation, flapping against the window with heavy sheets of snow. I try changing the subject with him.

"Shouldn't you be checking on the bakery?" he takes a minute to think about it while closing his eyes.

"Ugh, I totally forgot, Thomas is on break, and I can't leave you," he drains out.

"It won't be for so long, just go lock it up and come back, I'll be okay," I blow my nose again.

"Are you sure? The bakery is way less important than you right now," I smile at the thought.

"Just go, it'll only be a few minutes," More snow flaps against the window.

"It might be more than a few minutes," he remarks then kisses my forehead, leaving the room in silence.

Another pile of snow forms at the bottom of the front door as Peeta runs out into the blizzard. I'm hoping he can actually make it over to the bakery, and I could really be awake without him being here. I knew he would baby me like this, but right now that's all I want.

When I stomp back up the stairs I go into my bedroom and drink more of my tea, still surprisingly hot. The ring of the phone starts echoing throughout the empty house so I go back down the stairs to answer it. I clear my throat to make sure I don't sound to sick.

"Hello?" I choke out.

"Katniss? It's Delly, and don't try it, Peeta already told me everything. How are you feeling right now?" her cheery voice goes through the phone.

"Okay for now, how come you can call with this blizzard?" I ask.

"I had to give it a try at least, is Peeta with you?" she asks.

"No, he ran out to the bakery to make sure everything was locked up," I explain. I hear her sigh in the backround. Hmm.

"Did you want to talk to him?" I ask slowly.

"No, but he said he'd always be there with you," she sighs.

"I'm sure he did," I smile to myself.

"Make sure he calls me back when he gets home, hopefully soon, how long has he been gone?"

I haven't really been keeping track of how long he's been gone, I guess I should've. You can barely tell the time from outside so I check the clock, reading only about 2:00. He probably left around 1 or 12. Oh no.

"Delly, he left over an hour ago, should I go looking for him?" I ask a bit panicked.

"No Katniss I'll go, we can't let you get anymore sick," she advises. She has a point, I can't just go out there like so and come back feeling all better.

"Alright Delly, go rescue Peeta,"

**I am so sorry to all you guys for such a long update wait! Now that I've got the story going, it should be a bit quicker. New chapter up soon! -MissWaffles101**


	3. Chapter 3: Rescue

**Hey guys, new chapter up totally excited! I haven't been getting many reviews soooooo PLEASE REVIEW!**

Chapter 3: Rescue

I found myself pacing the kitchen, sipping tea a little at a time. I tried going back upstairs again and lying down, but the sheets burned my skin and I could never fall asleep. All I could do is wonder about Peeta, his lifeless body laying in the snow, covered in a small sheet of it. Delly will have my back, she will get him back, and this time I'll be the one babying him, sick or not.

_Delly's P.O.V._

I put on the last of my hat as I look out the window. I wipe away the fog and see the blizzard has gotten even harder, snow pounding down is globs onto the ground, at least a foot high. I hope Peeta is okay, Katniss must be worried sick.

_Okay Delly, just run out there and don't stop running until you reach the bakery! Just keep going_. I keep repeating that to myself as I finally open the door, a small pile of snow reaching it's way in. I step quickly outside, my boots immediately sinking into the snow. The bakery was only a few blocks away but this was going to take a while.

I start stomping/running through the snow toward the bakery, taking precautions in case Peeta fell over and into the snow. He wouldn't be so close to my house but at the bakery.

I finally stomped my way over and tripped over on one of the steps to the bakery. I rub my hand against one of the walls and see the sign. I wiped down one of the windows and glance into it. Empty, completely empty tables, lights all turned off, nobody behind the counter, not even the clock was clicking. Maybe the door is unlocked.

The door was unlocked but frozen shut. I guess that's out of the question. If Peeta's not here, he's got to be somewhere near.

I turned away from the bakery, walking carefully down the frozen steps. I look into the distance, just in case I see him walking, but all that comes into view is more snow.

After a few more minutes, I see something sticking out of the ground, a brown flap of something. I quickly move toward it and start running as it comes more into view. I lean down in front of it, then feel it. I know this, it's a paper bag, the bags Peeta puts his baked goods into! I start pulling it out, but it seems that is frozen too. My hand traces it, then swipes away more snow before more globs of it covers the bag. The snow is frozen to the ground, so with more force I keep yanking it away until I can pull away the bag. A small moan comes from the ground.

"Peeta?" I whisper and keep wiping away snow. I lay the bag aside and uncover snow. His blonde hair comes uncovered and soon his face, then his waist, and now his whole body is uncovered by the snow. He lies there, motionless. His skin is paper white, frost tangled up in his hair and coat.

"Peeta," I say a little louder and start shaking him. His eyes open, flakes of snow dropping out of his eyelashes.

"Delly?" he chokes. I nod.

"You fell asleep, didn't you," he tries to answer but I cover his mouth.

"Explain it when I get you home," I smile. His eyes slowly drop again, drifting off. I keep shaking him until he's awake.

"No Peeta, you need to stay with me, at least till I get you home," I order, then start helping him up. He slowly reaches for the bag beside him, but I quickly grab it.

"I'll get it home," I tell him. He slowly nods and lets me lead him, gripping hard onto his hand, holding his back up so he won't go down again.

_Katniss' P.O.V._

I pace the entire house, slowly walking in circles. I'm still waiting for that door to burst open or at least a knock. Just in case, I find my way back to the door and open it with no problem, in case it was frozen shut. Not anymore, at least.

About twenty minutes later, I hear the door budge a little, so I rush over to open it up more. The wind was knocking on my door, actually to tell me Delly was near. Her shadow reflects a bit off the landscape, and another shadow appears with her, so she must've found Peeta.

"Delly!" I scream, but nothing comes out. I can tell she's moving a bit faster, dragging Peeta behind her with a bag clutched in her hand. Snow starts flying in through the house, but I don't care, I can clean it up later. I just need him inside here, probably frostbitten.

Delly finally made it up to the steps, slowly walking up them, Peeta close up behind.

"Delly!" I scream again, she hears my croak of a voice and starts going a bit faster, stomping up the steps and into the house, a knocked out Peeta behind her.

"Katniss, are you all right? You look a bit panicked," she chokes worriedly, unwraping the scarf from her mouth.

She probably noticed the wideness of my eyes and my whole body shaking not only from the snow or my flu, just plain scared.

"I'm okay, just put him on the couch," I order her. She nods and carries him through the living room, lying him down, then covering him with a blanket.

"Katniss, sit down," she tells me. I walk over and sit on one of the chairs and look at her, expecting her to explain what happened. Silence enters the room except a few moans from Peeta; she hands me the frost covered bag she was covering. I take it and look into it. The bag is completely filled with either pastries or cheese buns, my favorite.

"He must've stayed long enough to take these with him," I mumble loud enough for Delly to hear, because she nods.

"Where was he? I'm supposing he wasn't in the bakery," I remark. She nods again.

"I found the bag flap sticking out of the snow, and then with a bit more digging, I found him there, still clutching the bag, passed out. I woke him up for at least a few minutes but he ended up passing out again, who knows how long he was out there," she explains. I nod and look over at him, his paper white skin, frost tangled up in his blonde hair, cracked lips. It's my turn to baby him.

"You better try to wake him up, I better get going to get out of this storm," she says happily. I let her leave into the storm and the whole house is silent except for the clock ticking.

I get up and walk over to the couch, kneel down to get head level with him, then start stroking his cheek. His skin is as cold as ice, and I'm sure that's how he feels. I peck his lips to expect him to wake up, instead I get a moan. I shake him just a little, and his eyes slowly open, a bit of color regaining in his face.

"Katniss," he moans. A smile immediately opens up on my face.

"Hey," I whisper. "How do you feel?"

"Awful, cold," he answers. I guess that wasn't the best question to ask.

"It's my turn to take care of you," I say with a smile. His eyes suddenly widen as he tries to sit up, another moan of pain escapes him.

"Don't deny it, I'll be okay, I'm making tea right now just for you, piping hot," I tell him. He doesn't seem to convinced, so I get up on the couch with him, chest to chest under the blanket. He breathes a sigh of relief, probably happy I reflected my body heat onto him.

"We're going to be okay," I tell him. He nods.

"We're going to get through this," he finishes, wrapping the blanket tighter around both of us, stroking my hair out of my eyes going through all the knots, and eventually falling back into sleep.

**Hey guys, I am sooo sorry this took a while! I'm also sorry I say that a lot, but I have the problem all you other authors have. School. It's a challenge, it's hard, and I'm sorry. I'm trying to update as fast as I can, so please give me a chance! PLEASE REVIEW! I am desperate for REVIEWS! -MissWaffles101**


	4. Chapter 4: Caring for Us

**Hey guys, I'm gonna give a million excuses and apologies to you guys, because you deserve the apologies, and I just don't have time for this story. Don't worry, I'll keep writing it, no problem, it just may take a little longer. Maybe if you guys reviewed a little more, the story may come a bit faster. Just a little suggestion. Anyways, here you go! Enjoy. **

Chapter 4: Caring for Us

The light outside our windows has drifted off, turning completely dark outside. The snow kept falling no problem, it was just light enough to see it outside.

I felt like my whole body was ice, cold and frozen in its spot. I'm sure Peeta feels the same. His skin color has regained back to normal, but I can tell he's chilled.

I sit up carefully, taking the tight blanket off, trying not to wake him, but that was impossible. A slight moan escaped him. I froze for a few seconds and looked carefully at his motionless body. Nothing broken, no cuts or scratches, just frozen. His eyes popped open.

"Hey Katniss," he whispers, his voice as chalky as mine. I sit back down as he sits up a bit.

"How do you feel now?" I put my hand to his forehead, still a little chilled. He squeezes his eyes shut.

"Not to bad," he chokes. "Better than before, I'm glad you slept, you're-" He didn't finish, and I know the reason. He was about to say I was looking better, but I don't feel like it. My head was still pounding, my voice dry as sand, the coughing continuing, and a rush of nausea running through my body once in a while.

"I'm no better than you are," I sigh. He puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head.

"I'm still taking care of you, no matter how sick I am, and I'm not as cold as I was," I look back at him.

"Have you felt your skin lately?" I take his other hand and put it to his forehead. His eyes widen in surprise.

"I guess you're right, but I'll keep warm, it's you I need to worry about," I sniffle a bit and try to protest, but there's no option to that. I'm sick. I can't do anything about it. Maybe I should call my mother, see her suggestions. All she's really going to say is drink lots of fluids and sleep, and that has been the main thing for us right now. But maybe she knows another way that might at least take this nausea and head aches away.

"I think the best thing we can do is call my mother, see what she thinks, then get through this," I tell him. He nods.

"Let's start with that, do you want me to call her?" he asks. I shake my head quickly.

"No, I need to talk to her about this," I say a bit to stern, Peeta just shrugs.

I find my mother's number on the wall, stuck to the wall right by the phone. I take the phone out and start dialing the numbers with shaky fingers. There's only one ring before she answers.

"Mrs. Everdeen speaking,"

"Mom? It's Katniss," I choke.

"Katniss? Honey you sound awful," her voice drains. I swallow a lump.

"I know, I need you're help. I'm sure I got the flu, and Peeta's probably been layed out in the snow for an hour, we've drank all the tea we can hold and slept for hours a day. Is there anything else we can do?" I can tell she's thinking for a bit, then answers back into the phone.

"For now, that is all you can do. Plenty of fluids and sleep, I'll send some medicine over, it should be there shortly, feel better soon. As for Peeta, keep him warm, love you," and she hangs up the phone. I slowly ut it back on the wall, sweat smearing the back of it.

"You didn't have to say anything about me, I'm fine," he confronts me.

"No you're not, let's at least make you feel a bit warmer," I tell him.

"Well what did she say?"

"To keep you warm," He sighs.

"What else?"

"She's sending some medicine over, and just to keep doing what we're doing," We both sigh out coughs.

"Now you're catching it," I complain.

"I'm fine, it's just a few chills," I'm about to say something when the naseua runs through me, and decides to come out. I immediately run to the bathroom throw it up in the toilet. It stops for a few seconds then runs through me again, making it's way back up my throat. The wave goes away and I close the lid, then flush it. The worst part of the flu.

I walk out then go into Peeta's waiting arms. "You're going to be okay, I promise," he whispers into my hair. He scoops me up like a bride then carries me up the stairs into our bedroom, laying me down on the bed, then laying right next to me, tangling his fingers in my hair. My stomach churns slowly leave, my body settling under the warm covers Peeta puts over both of us. I still had the sick feeling though.

"Better?" he whispers. I nod and smile, then let my eyelids drop back into sleep when his arms wrap around me.

_2 Days Later_

More hot tea, more hot chocolate, anything piping hot you can think of was what we ate and drank. Peeta made plenty of more cheese buns from here; a stove of boiling water always on the stove. I felt the same as always, nothing going away quite yet.

We were still wondering when that package was expected to get here, hopefully soon. Peeta's whole body starts shaking out of nowhere, and he's trying his hardest to control it. It wasn't a flashback, it's his chills appearing out of nowhere. He could be doing anything, and his hands start to shake and sweat, along with the rest of his body.

"Peeta, this is why I told my mother about you too, you are shaking like crazy," I tell him one day. He rolls his eyes.

"So are you," he tries fighting back. I never realized I was shaking until I look down and hold up my hands and notice the slight trembling in them. I shrug.

"We'll get over it," I mumble enough for him to hear. He goes back to tearing apart another one of his cheese buns. I walk over to the window by our front door and take a look outside. Nothing's changed, snow still pounding onto the ground, almost over a foot. You could see the houses and trees barely sticking out, with everyone stuck inside them with a fire brewing. As I looked around a little more, I noticed a medium sized box on our doorstep, a small label with careful cursive written on it, and then a return label from my mother's hospital.

Our care package has arrived.

I look behind me to find Peeta standing a few feet back, probably wondering what I'm doing. His color has fully regained; making his appearance look completely normal without all the shaking.

"What is it?" he finally asks. I shake my head to come back into focus and look back at the package. I'm not imagining it, the box is here on our doorstep.

"I think our care package has come from my mother," I say with a crooked smile. He clenches his jaw and walks over beside me, then looking out the window.

"I'll get it," I sigh opening the door, but he immediately closes it.

"Katniss, it's your turn to rest on your own, I'll get it," I'd usually say 'You're cold enough, just let me get it,' but I shrug and take my hand off the doorknob. He opens the door quickly then grabs the box with one hand, balancing it in his arm. The door shuts as quickly as he opened it. No snow seemed to blow in this time.

He brushes the snow off carefully and brings it to the kitchen, putting it on the table, then opening it easily with ease. And a bread knife. I trudge over beside him, looking at the contents my mother sent. A few bottles, containers, and notes are all that are in it. A single note lays on top of all the medicine.

_Use it with care, get well soon. -Mother_

That's all she wrote. I set the note aside quickly and start taking out the medicine. I wasn't wrong about all the containers and bottles, but I could tell there were more than just that. Scattered papers that were supposed to be stuck on the bottles are among all the medicine, and few small boxes of tissues, a few heat packs, a small container of morphling. I let Peeta empty the rest while I keep watching, bottle after bottle, then pulls out a small rectangular box, almost looking like to hold jewelry.

We exchange glances then he carefully starts to open the small box, unwrapping the little shreds of tape. There was no note for this one for I could see, but once he fully got the lid off, I knew why.

The box was full of syringes.

**Again, a million of apologies! I'm trying my best, I really am. It may be a chapter a week, maybe more if I got a bit more support. You never know. PLEASE REVIEW! -MissWaffles101**


	5. Chapter 5: Trouble

Chapter 5: Trouble

"Katniss?" Peeta says softly. My eyes are still widened at the small box full of needles. Not just one, there had to be at least five. That's, that's just not right. What could we possibly need in a needle to make us feel better.

I take my widened eyes off the box to look up at Peeta's calm eyes. Water starts to flood in my eyes, streaming down my cheeks. He wipes them off carefully.

"Katniss, you're going to be okay, let's find the note to this, and maybe you won't even need it," I stay frozen in my spot next to him while he starts scattering the notes around, finding the white slip of paper in an instance.

_Pain Killers_

_Katniss- Not common, but in case_

_Of nasuea, use the syringe labeled _

_With N. _

_Peeta- Use the needles labeled_

_S and F. The one medicine_

_That can warm you up back_

_To normal temperature. Use_

_One every four hours, that_

_Goes for both of you. Be _

_Careful. _

That's all the note said. Nothing like, 'Katniss, keep calm about this, Peeta will help you' just simple instructions. I'm sure Peeta will comfort me enough is what she was thinking.

"See? Have you been-" he stops talking after he thinks about it. He scrunches his eyes shut, forgetting the memory of me running to the bathroom, puking my guts out.

"Don't get so worked up about this, that was the only time you felt that right?" I stay silent.

"Katniss," He puts his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him in the eyes.

"You're going to be okay, I have to take them too. For now, let's have you take a couple of pill painkillers, okay?" I nod slowly. He takes his hands off my shoulders then happens to find a larger note among all the other notes.

_Dear Katniss and Peeta,_

_Take the pills first. You can use the packs for any time use, as for needles, take them absolutely last if the other pills don't work. Except for Peeta, take the s needle right away, and Katniss take the pills in order of the number, one every day. If you get better before using up all the pills, do not take the other medications. The bottles have numbers that match the pills. Call me for anymore questions. Love you. -Mother_

I look back up Peeta as he starts taking out the pill containers and packs and laying the containers in order then putting the bottles behind them. He takes out the syringe with the sticker with an _s _on it, laying it by our first medication.

"You go first," he mumbles. I open up the first pill jar and take out the first white pill, then open up the thick white liquid that goes along with it. I place the small white circle on the back of my tongue and pinch my nose, taking in the thick substance running down my throat, rushing the pill down. I almost feel like spitting it out or throwing back up, but Peeta covers my mouth and nose just like I did to him in the cave. He smiles mischievously. I swallow the rest of the liquid.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it? I get the wonderful needle," he says shrugging up his sleeve. I take the needle and smile back at him. He closes his eyes tight as I jam the needle into Peeta's arm and slowly press the plunger down. He lets out a small hiss. I take the needle out and he puts his sleeve down, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" I mimick him. He smiles and nudges me. I feel better already.

"How about another couple of cheese buns?" he suggests. I nod and let him go to the kitchen to grab a couple out of the fridge and then heat them up for a bit. Then the cheese is deliciously melting onto my tongue like it always does.

"Looks like someones feeling better," he smiles at me. I cough a couple times to tell him I'm still sick, but his smile still stays.

"How long do you think the snow will last last?" I say in my wonderfully scratchy voice. He shrugs.

"I don't know, we've never had this much snow before, why now?" He questions.

"Well like you said, we'll just have to get through it,"

I didn't get any worse, but I didn't get any better. Well maybe a little, but I was almost more worried about Peeta than myself. He seemed to be back to his original self after those few medications he was given. I felt a bit better too, but the flu was still stuck inside me. I tried to show I was feeling better, but nothing seemed to fool Peeta.

"Katniss, I know you're feeling better, but you're not back to normal," he says to me one day, then puts his cool hand on my forehead.

"You're still hot and chilled aren't you?" he whispers. I stay still silent. He sighs.

"You're such a stubborn one, aren't you?" he chuckles. I shrug.

"I'm no different," I choke. "It's been what, almost a week since I've had this?" I complain. His eyes widen.

"Katniss, it's been three days, you have got to rest some more!" he says sternly. Was I really that off in days? I never counted time anymore, 'I always just thought another medication for today'' and be done.

"Maybe you should too!" I snap back. "Maybe you wouldn't be shaking so much and feel like ice when I touch you! I just knew you shouldn't have gone to the bakery, your health is way more important than that place!" His stern face relaxes into hurt, a face an injured animal would have, begging for healing. I start to cool down, my face matching his, then turning into quiet sobs. I quickly put my arms around him and bury my head in his chest.

"Peeta, I-" He hushes me.

"It's okay, you're right. I shouldn't have gone out there, but right now your problem is way more important, let's both get some rest," I nod, still deep in his arms, and he scoops me up, carrying me across the room and upstairs to our bedroom.

He lays me down swiftly on the bed, covering me in the thick covers of the blankets. Then he goes to the other side, joining me under the covers, reflecting his body heat.

"Don't tell me you're not tired, because you're about to drift off any moment," I'm about to protest when my eyelids fall back into sleep.

**Hey guys, I've got some pretty cool ideas for this story. Sorry it's going a bit slow, but it will speed up. Trust me. Thank you Hurricane Sandy for closing school and having me write stories! Later guys. -MissWaffles101**


	6. Chapter 6: Run Away

Chapter 6: Run Away

I wake up suddenly, my eyes bulging open. I looked over at the clock, reading 2:00 am. Why did I wake up right in the middle of the night? Then it hits me.

I clench my stomach hard and burst out of the bed to the bathroom, immediately groaning and puking in the toilet. I cough and sputter until I feel something on my back.

"Katniss," he says softly, like velvet. "You aren't getting any better, we need to take you somewhere," I try to answer but have to groan into the toilet again. He pulls my hair away then rubs my back as I try to finish. When I do, he flushes the toilet and leads me back to bed.

"I think we need to give you some of that medicine," He didn't say needles, but I knew he was trying not to. I was completely, deathly afraid to get that vaccine, since I haven't had one in so long. Besides, it was just one time where I puked, probably ate too many cheese buns and got too comfortable.

"No, Peeta, this was a one time thing. I probably ate too much yesterday, layed back too much. It's no big deal," he puts his hands on my shoulders, looking at me straight in the eyes.

"Katniss, this isn't right. I ate just as much as you did, I'm going to have to give you that vaccine," I shake my head slowly, then faster.

"No, I don't need it," I say, taking his hands off my shoulders and backing away. "No Peeta, I'm just going to go sleep it off," he sighs.

"I'm not letting you get even worse than you already are," he says sternly, walking toward me. "Just let me do this once," I shake my head again.

"No, I can't, I won't, because I don't need it," I grab my coat off the door handle and start to run down the stairs.

"Katniss!" he yells, starting off after me, but I'm already at the front door. Am I really going to go off in the night during a snow storm? Just because of one needle? Yes, yes I am. I feel like I won't be able to handle it. Either it will hurt me too much or I'll just get sicker.

I do the unspeakable and open the front door really fast, letting a gust of wind and snow in, then race out onto the steps, closing the door tightly behind me, before Peeta can open it again.

I carefully go down the steps then trudge through the foot high snow as fast as I can. It's slippery and sticky snow, and it's still coming down hard. But I didn't care, I can survive any weather conditions, sick or not, I'll be fine. I'll be fine.

It's pitch black outside, I can barely see the snow fall or where I'm walking. But I do the best I can, trying not to slip. At one spot I do slip, and I just lay there for a bit, letting the cool flakes fall on my face. It actually felt nice, since I've always been so clammy and hot under millions of covers. I actually smile, taking in the horrid weather, enjoying the coolness.

I shake my head a little, before snow completely makes a layer over me. I sit up slowly, then lock my feet in the ice so I can stand up. All I hear is the wind, no yells telling me to come back, no voices searching, just the wind blowing the snow down. It was really peaceful. I loved it, wanting to stay out here in the cold, even if it was negative degrees. It was just so, nice.

I continued trudging, seeing some lights on in small houses. I could always go find Delly, she could let me stay for the night, unless I end up puking at her house and my symptoms come up again. I still felt sneezy and full of snot and other crap, but my stomach has settled down. I felt a bit better, not chilled or heated up too much. I begin trudging through the snow again, toward the houses. I think I can pick hers out in the heavy snow, usually she can stay up at night doing something. She could be waiting for me. Wait a minute.

What if Peeta called her up? What if it's a trap, and she'll just send me right back home, or even have the medicine? I can't take any more needles, long or not. I need to get away from the sick, babying, medicine filled world, and just go somewhere peaceful out of the district.

The Forest. The Meadow.

Of course! I could go snuggle up in some tree somewhere. And what, cover myself up in snow? No, but I'll make something work.

I turn away from the houses and stomp through the snow again, a little faster this time. Past the houses, the victor's village. I stop when I reach the end of the village, looking at our house. Most of the lights are on, Peeta must be worried sick-

Peeta.

Why. What was I thinking. I just ran away from him, practically slammed the door in his face. Why did I have to be such a crybaby, I could've just taken the medicine, maybe cry a little, then rest in his warm arms. Okay, he's not very warm, but he would at least be there. I'm alone. I spent too much time alone.

I shake my thoughts away about everyone, and keep going toward the forests. I can walk straight into them, so I keep going deeper until a few trees start dripping globs of snow on me. I stop and look around, looking for a tree to possibly climb, if it wasn't to slippery.

There's one nearby just low enough, so I head towards that one. My hands almost immediately freeze when I squeeze a branch. I try to ignore the feeling of the ice and keep climbing, until I find a sturdy, thick branch to perhaps lay on, just for the night.

I position my legs, swinging them over so I'm stretched out, my back against the tree. It was actually sort of nice, I was shaded enough to not get snow drenched on me. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to fall into sleep.

After a little while, I start to feel the feeling in my stomach again. I try to swallow it down, and soon it works, I only have to cough a little out. I close my eyes and soon enough, I actually fall asleep.

My eyes pop open, it wasn't the middle of the night. I could tell, the sky was just a little lighter today.

No, the weather hasn't changed, I find myself soaking wet, all over. My hair drips little icicles onto my shoulders, giving them shivers. I was frozen on the spot, what was I going to do. I had to get back to Peeta, looking at least a little presentable, not where he should say I told you so.

I unstuck my fingers, then my hands and arms, stretching out, a little bit of ice coming off. I grab the tree again, starting to climb down, when I hear something, footsteps. There's someone there, looking for me, I just know it. Peeta could be down there.

I look down slowly, trying not to make a noise, but end up dropping some isicles onto the person. _Please don't look up. Please don't look up. _I turn a little, trying to form myself into the tree, camouflage. The footsteps stop for a moment, then continue walking. I breathe a sigh of relief, that was enough to loose my grip on the tree.

I slide down the tree, my fingernails clawing the bark, trying top stop myself, but it's no use. Icicles drop around and on me, showering the ground. I land hard, on my back into the freezing snow. The footsteps start heading in my direction.

"Who's there?" the voice calls. The voice isn't Peeta's or Delly's, some guy's voice. Young actually. I sit up a little and see him turn his head to look at me.

He was young, about 19, or maybe 20. His brown, whisky hair framed his head, covered in little snowflakes. He had some heavy duty snow clothes, coat, scarf, and thin enough to make his hands look fancy but still keep them warm. He was about Peeta's height, maybe a little taller.

"Katniss?" he asks, almost sounding like Peeta too. I grimace, but say nothing. He walks toward me, then hovers above me.

"Katniss, it's me, Thomas. I work with Peeta at the bakery," I relax a little, at least it's someone I know.

"Did Peeta send you out here?" I ask. He has a confused look on his face.

"Wh-what? No, I just wanted to get out of the house a little, to stuffed out." he responds, looking at the gray covered sky.

"Tell me about it," I murmur. He looks back down at me.

"You aren't looking to fresh, what's wrong and why are you out here," I hesitate but answer.

"I'm sick, I've been sick for at least a week, so I trudged out in the snow and came here to sleep in a tree, then ending up freezing through the night. I just had to get out of the medicine and Peeta-" I stop and end up bursting into tears. He crouches down and puts his arm around my shoulders, trying to warm me back up.

"Hey, don't cry. It'll just make things worse," I look back up at him.

"I think I need to take you home, explain some things to Peeta," I don't fight it, I need to get home, so I take his hand as he stands up.

"Come on, I'll help you home." He holds my hand the entire away, squeezing it a bit harder if I start to fall. I don't end up falling for a while, so he just starts talking to me.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask, did you get hurt when you fell from the tree?" I shake my head and smiled a little.

"The snow broke my fall. I think I'm okay," he clenches his jaw.

"You seem pretty sick to me, why would you just go outside? Everyone gets tired of the medicine and being sick, but going out in the blizzard isn't the answer to every sickness and flu virus." I look at him.

"Thomas, it felt so good to come out here. I was all clammy and stuffed up in that hot house, it felt nice to let a few snowflakes cool my face down, at least a little fresh air helped. I don't know what I was thinking, really, I shouldn't have been a baby about the-" I shut my mouth.

"About what?" I sigh, then end up telling him the whole story from where I woke up in the middle of the night.

"Why didn't you just take it?" he asked when I finished.

"I've gone through my life always taking them, more than needed. It was a litte puke, so what? There's no need to stick a needle in my arm to fix it,"

"I think you need to go take it, if it helps you get any better. You'll probably need something else just for sleeping out here,"

"Great, should've just went to the bakery," he chuckles.

"Frozen shut, just try it," I nudged him. We finally arrived at the Victor's Village when my eyes started to droop.

"No, Katniss, you can't fall asleep, keep going, just a little more," I tried to raise my eyebrows, keeping my eyes open, but it was no use. Sleep overcame me as I dropped to the ground.

**To everyone still reading this, I am really sorry for not updating as I usually did. School took over hard, but now it's over, so I have time to write more stories and chapters! Please keeping reading this, I will update more, now that I've got some more ideas. Thanks, and reviews are welcome! -MissWaffles101**


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